Psycho Babble Meets Anthro Babble
by Radical618
Summary: Brennan enters the world of Psychology, and she's anything but thrilled... And Lightman knows it.
1. Chapter 1

His hands were playing the steering wheel like a drum as they drove their sleek SUV to their destination. Booth had not seen his partner from way back when in quite sometime. He had tried to explain the nature of his friendship with Reynolds to Brennan, but she didn't quite grasp it the way he had explained it. To her they were simply coworkers from a long time ago. His eyes danced from clock to road as they neared the business building in which their next case was waiting for them. This time however, they were forming an alliance with The Lightman Group. This case contained too many people with too many answers, and Booth and Brennan couldn't figure out what was and wasn't true.

Booth flashed his FBI badge as he found a random place to park in decent distance from the building. He was excited to be reliving his early FBI days and he let his excitement write itself all over his face. As they approached the elevator inside, he hopped in and pushed the button that would lead to their destination rather forcefully. So forcefully, Brennan finally cracked.

"Booth, you're acting rather inappropriately. You need to treat this like it's any other case, stay professional. If we can impress Dr. Lightman and his fellows, they could be an excellent asset to our team in future cases."

"Bones, relax. I am capable of remaining cool and collected. I'm just glad that I get to see an old buddy, okay? It's like you seeing Angela after a long break."

"Angela and I haven't really been on a long break from each other."

"Oh good here's our floor."

The elevator door chimed and opened a few moments later. Booth stepped out as Brennan followed at his side. Booth went right up to the desk and began his normal chit chat about finding who they needed to find, while Brennan took in the entrance way where the company name was written and the many pictures of faces and their expressions graced the wall. Brennan hated psychology, so she wasn't staring at the expressions, but rather the bone structures within each face.

"You must be Dr. Brennan. Huge fan, your books are awesome." She turned and offered a small smile. "I'm Eli Loker. I'm the unpaid intern who used to be paid." She nodded and offered another small smile. "You don't care, so I'm gonna just get back to work." He pointed behind her. "There's the people you're looking for, more in your league, they're the doctors." She nodded yet again and turned her back to Loker and headed over to Booth and who she presumed was Dr. Lightman.

"Dr. Brennan, pleasure. I'm Cal Lightman and this is my associate, Dr. Gillian Foster."

"Thank you for assisting us with this case. Our psychologist Dr. Sweets is typically very good at catching who is lying, and Booth is as well, we're just a little in over our heads in this case… I regret to say."

"Excellent. The more the merrier."

"More liars? You want more?"

"Bones he does this for a living. You like bones, he likes faces." He gestured to her and said quietly. She nodded in agreement, though internally questioned the fun in that.

"It's loads of fun actually, It's like being a psychic!" He said wandering in the direction of his office.

"We should follow him." Brennan led the three of them after Cal and into his culturally decorated office.

"For a psychologist you have a lot of cultural artifacts in your office."

"I prefer to think of myself as the circus act. Foster's the shrink." He shed a smile, and noticed the stone look upon Brennan's. "I studied with a culture to observe facial expressions and if they differ between cultures the world over. Turns out they don't." He plopped into his chair. "Agent Booth, your old friend Agent Reynolds gave me the down low on your case. Pity it's a young, your victim."

"Who do you propose we look at first, based on you scientific inquiry?" Brennan said quickly with urgency in her voice.

"Well here's the thing Dr. Brennan, the information gathered doesn't really help me at all. Sure it provides background information that Foster and I could use later on, but as of right now, I need to see them give the answers."

"So we'll be going backwards?"

"Never backwards, we're just getting new evidence your lab failed to acquire."

Brennan looked at Lightman and her face screamed disgust. He smiled at her with a tease, and then caught the disapproving look in Foster's eye.


	2. Chapter 2

Booth sensed the tension rising between his partner and Lightman and knew he had to use his people skills before Brennan exploded. He stepped in front of Brennan and took the conversation into his own hands.

"Please take a look at the information we've gathered, and I can get my people to get the suspects here so you can talk to them and get the information you're looking for." Brennan huffed loudly, which made Booth crack a smile. "Any information that can get us closer to booking the perp is useful, right Bones?" Brennan responded with a smaller sigh and a curt nod.

"Good, where's Reynolds?"

"Still our with Ria on their case."

"Agent Booth grab your people, and once Reynolds gets back you can do the ol' good cop bad cop thing."

Booth whipped out his cell phone and grabbed Brennan by the arm. Once they were out in the hallway, away from Lightman and Foster, Brennan voiced her opinion.

"They can not just sit here and tell us our information is wrong. We have scientifically gathered this information based on Sweets' research as well as mine!"

"Bones-."

"And, what kind of doctor talks down his profession to a psychic or a circus act?"

"Hey, woah, Bones! He was not putting your work down okay. He was simply stating that for his line of work, he needs different information. Your team wouldn't have grabbed that info because we don't look for it." He touched her shoulder in comfort. "Just relax, we're here because we need them to help us, and that's what they're doing." She nodded slowly. "I have to call headquarters to get these people down here, go in there and play nice." He told her as he wandered off to a quieter section of the office.

"Play nice with what?" She asked curiously.

"It's a figure of speech."

"Well, I don't know what it means but, this case isn't something we should play with."

"Dr. Brennan!" Lightman called from down the hall. "Loker buzz off."

"The guy never cuts me any slack." Loker whispered and walked away casually.

"Yes, Dr. Lightman." She responded as calmly as she could.

"Can you decipher this Anthro babble?"

"Anthropological forensic information is hardly babble, Dr. Lightman."

"Well, it's like you and my line of work Dr. Brennan. Psychology and facial expressions is lost on you the way zygomatic arcs and metatarsals are lost on me."

"I understand. So you want me to read the case file to you?"

"In English, not this scientific garb you've got written here. I'm just a simple Psychologist after all."

Brennan snatched the case file out of his hand and looked over her perfectly noted information. Gathering her thoughts she explained the child's misfortunes. "13 year old boy, Jason Humphrey of College Park Maryland. COD was blunt force trauma to the back of his skull, though many other stab wounds were found throughout the body. His left femur has been shattered, as well as his collarbone on the right side."

"And you've talked to his parents?"

"Yes. His extended family lives within the area, so we contacted them as well."

"And a good read can't be taken off of anyone?"

"There were a few individuals that we could tell from the start were innocent, but the remainder of the family all seem very suspicious in their own way."

"Excellent. Thank you Dr. Brennan."

"Glad I could be of assistance."

Lightman took off back towards his office. Coming at him with a folder in hand was Foster, whom he twirled around so she was now following him instead. Brennan turned and looked for Booth, when she saw him approaching her with another man in a suit quite similar to Booth's.

"Bones! This is Ben Reynolds."

"Ah, you're Booth's long lost friend."

"Your Booth's partner…?"

"Yes, Temperance Brennan, doctor of forensic anthropology, probably the best in the world."

"Ah now I see why you two are partners… you're both so damn cocky."

"More like they dig each other in more ways than one." Lightman responded to them, as he handed the folder to Reynolds.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know what that means but Booth and I are excellent partners because of the skills we posses. Are we ready to proceed and gather some concrete evidence that will bring us closer to figuring out who killed Jason?"

"Of course Dr. Brennan. But there really isn't anything to do until the party arrives, is there?"

"Cal. Leave her alone, please. Dr. Brennan is there anything you're interested in about what the rest of the company does aside from Dr. Lightman?"

"I think I have the general idea, than you, Dr. Foster." Brennan replied coldly. Foster looked helpless to Booth, she knew that this rift between Lightman and Brennan was going to form; they were so different in approaching science and means of collecting and reading data.

"So as the psychologist, Dr. Foster, uh, what is your job after he's done tormenting them?"

Foster smiled and nodded her head slightly, thanking Booth for playing along. "I conjure the why behind the lie."

"Conjure?"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan, form from the data."

"Do you have any real evidence of why you're choosing what it is you choose?"

"We look at already documented statistics that are seen regularly in cases such as these and base our hypotheses off of that."

"Hmm."

"That sounds like an excellent strategy to figure out a reason why someone would lie and cover up a murder can we just be excused please?" Booth said in one full sentence and dragged Brennan out the door. "You you give it a rest Bones! I have asked you and told you to just shut up and accept their work already, why is this so difficult? Just go back in there and humor them, pretend you're interested."

"Booth, there is no use in pretending I'm interested or in awe of their abilities to be walking lie detectors."

"Why?! I do it!"

"Okay first off, you are mildly interested because you can read people fairly well. And second off, they'll know I'm lying so what is the point?"

Booth stood there momentarily with his mouth open at a loss for words; she had proved him incorrect. "Looks like your partner understands the logistics of this place very well." Booth shook his head slightly and smirked at Reynolds. "Got some people here to talk to." And instantly Brennan headed for the end of the hallway where she assumed she'd be pointed in the right direction.

She left Reynolds and Booth standing there to get Lightman and Foster, but she knew this would be one of the only moments in the next few hours to grab a moment to herself. She walked briskly and saw Loker pointing a finger into a room at the end of the hallway, like she had expected. She followed his pointed phalange and entered the interrogation room, which possessed the cubed room in its center.

"Welcome to the state of the art question asking box." She glared at him. "You're going to get some great answers out of this one. Trust me."

"OI! Loker, buzz off for peat sake! Don't you have a job?"

"Nah, I've got an internship." He said laughing and then stopped when he saw Foster's stern look, leaving the room.

"This is where I will be bringing in the suspect and questioning them. You will see them and but they will not see you. Also, much to my displeasure, Loker will be back, with Ria Torres to run this equipment to run baseline tests."

"Will I get to talk to them?"

"Agent Booth just stay on this side of the glass until you're told otherwise."

"Okay then." He lifted his eyebrows toward Brennan, who shrugged her left shoulder.

"Just trust me, alright? None of this questioning business."

"Foster is gonna give you the run down of what we are recording while I'm in there."

"Boss, first woman is ready."

"Excellent. Alright here we go. Shut up and don't talk, except for you." He pointed at Foster.

"Have fun Cal."

He smiled. "Always luv."

"He thinks we got a thing? I'm fairly certain you two have a thing."

"Agent Booth, be quiet, you're not supposed to be talking." Foster replied with a smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

The box where Lightman greeted the patient turned to a bright white. Those on the outside of the box could see in, but Lightman and the suspect could not see out of it. Lightman began asking the suspect very easy and basic questions. Foster recorded a number of things and remained very patient, while both Booth and Brennan were growing rather anxious.

"Why is he asking that man such easy questions?" Brennan said all but quietly.

"Dr. Brennan…" Foster paused and recorded something. "Dr. Lightman is establishing a baseline. That way once our suspect starts lying, it will be more apparent."

"But what's the point if he's a walking 'circus act'?"

Foster smiled. "Documented evidence. People can't just rely on Cal's skills."

Brennan looked to Booth rather unimpressed.

"Can I see the evidence? I'm a visual person."

"It's your standard lie detector. However, we don't use it to determine of that person is lying, just if there is any sort of change. Lie detectors, well, they lie."

"Of course there are obvious persons a persons blood pressure would fall and rise besides just lying."

"Exactly. Oh no."

"Oi. Could you lot just pipe down?"

"Cal you can not hear us." Foster responded knowingly.

"No, but I need you not talking. You can all start talking when there is something to chat about, alright? Agent Booth, come with me."

Without another word Booth followed Lightman into the glowing interrogation cube and Brennan could do nothing but watch Booth cooperate with Lightman accordingly. She smiled slightly to herself at the thought of Booth taking orders on interrogation considering he was very set on his ways. Foster walked over to Brennan and stood beside her, watching and listening to the abuse the suspect was taking from the two men.

"You're not recording anymore."

"No, at this point, Lightman knows the baseline and can tell if the suspect is lying."

"So if he can tell why did he need Booth?"

Foster smiled. "Intimidation."

Brennan's eyebrows rose quickly and then sunk back down. "I am rather impressed that Booth is seen as an intimidating factor in situations like these."

"He certainly has a intimidating presence, Dr. Brennan."

"Wait why is that boy leaving? They were shouting five seconds ago!"

"Bones relax, he wasn't our guy. Just had to rough him up a bit to get the information out of him, stubborn little dweeb."

"Dweeb, really?" Lightman responded.

"Hey a dweeb is one up on a squint, so uh, I wouldn't be judging. Who's next?" Booth said leaving the room; he was ready for another go around.

"Who are you calling a squint?"

"Don't take it personally Dr. Lightman," Brennan responded with a small smirk "If you're not carrying a gun, you're a squint to Booth."

"Still not getting a gun Bones!" They heard Booth yell from a distance.

There was a short silence, as they had expected Booth to arrive back into the interrogation room with the next name on the list, when instead Booth rejoined the squints along with Reynolds, who both looked rather solemn.

"Spill your guts boys." Lightman commanded as he knew they had dreadful news.

"Jason Humphrey's parents weren't here for a reason Lightman." Reynolds responded.

Booth handed Brennan a case folder, which she opened revealing two skeletal remains. "The evidence that states these are his parents is what exactly?"

"This." Booth pulled out a picture at the bottom of the stack where the right femur from each body had been photographed. "Their names are engraved into their femurs."

Brennan's breathing quickened as she looked back to Booth and only Booth. "I need to see these bones."


	5. Chapter 5

"Now there's no way to be sure that these are their bones only because of these etchings. However, they do help point us in what direction we should be in."

"Do you ever just go on what you see?" Lightman asked, partially enticing an argument.

"Absolutely not. I go on what I know based on my findings." She said quickly as she boarded the elevator. "Do you think we could move this all to my lab? I am fairly certain you could interrogate people there. I'm in desperate need to look at these bones."

"Why don't I send one of my associates with you, and you can relay information to him, and therefore we will receive said information? Loker, go with Dr. Brennan."

"Fine, Mr. Loker let's go quickly please."

"Oh, Mr. Loker, I like…" He said as the doors closed on them.

Without another word, as the excitement and intensity of the task at hand was filling Brennan's body, she and Loker made their way to Booth's Toyota. Moments later they were on the road and on their way to the Jeffersonian. Brennan saw from the corner of her eye that Loker was slightly bobbing his head to the rock song playing in the background, and she was tempted to begin singing as an invitation for him to pick up his movements. However, by the time she was taken over by the music, which she thoroughly enjoyed, they were at the lab, and her mind was only focused on her science.

"Sweety, Booth called us and told us you were coming. Hello who is this?"

"He is one of Lightman's minions Angela. And by minion I mean not important."

"Shut up and snap your rubber band Hodgins. Hi, I'm Angela Montenegro, I'm the artist aka I draw the people we find."

"Sounds gruesome." Loker replied. "Eli Loker by the way, Lightman's favorite minion." He said glancing to Hodgins.

"Enough talking, it's time to work." Brennan said with urgency in her voice. "Where is Ms. Wick?"

"Here Dr. Brennan! I have the femurs and the rest of the skeletons ready to go."

"Excellent. Mr. Loker please do not touch anything and don't talk, I need full concentration."

"Yes ma'am."

Brennan approached the bones and first inspected them with just the naked eye. The only bones that had any sort of foreign markings were their right femurs. There was one male and one female, both of middle aged. And that was really all Brennan could tell from her two specimens.

"Well, there is nothing that tells us that these two people are the victims parents. They are male and female" she pointed to designate which one was which, "and the only artificial markings are the carvings in the right femurs of each."

"So what's the-." Loker paused, and remembered he wasn't supposed to talk.

"Continue Mr. Loker."

"Next step?"

"Angela is going to draw the individuals based on their bone structure, then from that we can ask other family members if they are in fact Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey. Will you tell Lightman that that is what step we are on and once Angela has completed her sketches we will scan over what she has determined." Loker nodded in response to Brennan's request.

"I don't like that guy."

"Shut up Hodgins. He isn't harming anyone." Angela replied as she went to draw out the two new victims.

Brennan remained with Daisy to examine the bones even more closely, this time using a magnifying glass to catch anything she may have missed. Unfortunately, there was nothing on any bone beside the femurs once again.

"Hodgins, look over these bones and see if you can find any foreign materials that you could test. These bones appear too pristine to be the victims of a murder."

"They're real bones right?" Hodgins asked just to be sure.

"Of course they're real bones Hodgins, they're just not typically what we see in murder cases."

"It looks like they've been murdered in other means that a weapon."

Brennan's mind went crazy. "Hodgins, do a chemical composition test for poisonous foreign materials."


	6. Chapter 6

I'd just like to put an authors note real quick! Thanks for all the reviews and I apologize for the long break between updates. I promise to do my best to update as fast as possible! Thanks for reading and enjoy!

"All they have done is determine nothing?"

"Lightman, they've gotten a lot of info from what they have here, it's actually really cool."

"I don't care, Loker. I want someone to look at."

"After Angela draws it up, you'll be able to read people all day."

"Draws what up?"

"The reconstruction of the parents."

"Not to burst Dr. Brennan's bubble, but wouldn't she know if that was them? Booth interrogated them."

Loker froze. "I… guess you're right."

"Well stop guessing and ask him before I need to start asking suspects questions about pointless information."

"You got it."

Loker snapped his phone shut and walked confidently over to Brennan. He was not quite sure if he wanted to question her authority. He spotted Angela walking back with what he assumed was the results, so he decided to stop her before confronting Brennan.

"Uh, Angela, how did it turn out?"

"Well, it's two middle-aged people so it could be anyone or the people we need."

"You know, wouldn't Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth know the parents if they saw the pictures?"

"Well, yeah, but wouldn't Dr. Lightman want to make sure he can get a read off of the family members?"

Loker froze. "Yes. Excuse me." He walked away and whipped open his phone.

"I was playing with your confidence Loker."

"Well don't. So do you want a scan or not?"

"I still would like you to ask Dr. Brennan if they're the parents. That way I can have the answer at the ready when someone lies to me."

"You mean if someone lies to you."

"No, Loker, I mean when." The line went dead.

Loker walked back to the artist. She smiled at Loker and they made there way back to Brennan. Angela handed the recreation to her and said nothing, just simply waiting for Brennan's typical response. When it didn't come, Loker and Angela were nervous.

"Dr. Brennan, are those Jason's parents?" Loker's voice pleaded with hope. He knew that if they weren't this case got that much more complicated. He watched her eyes and face for any sort of micro expression. When he saw her lips purse for less than a second, he knew they had just gone down the rabbit hole. He watched her shake her head no. "So now we have imposter dead Humphrey's, and missing real Humphrey's."

"Call Dr. Lightman." She stuffed her hands into her pocket - Loker knew she felt exposed and helpless. "Tell him what we found and that we'll all be over there shortly. Ms. Wick, please go help Dr. Hodgins with his chemical analysis and have either him or you call me the second you get a result, whether it is helpful or not." Daisy nodded and rushed to where Hodgins was doing his work. "Angela, come with us to Dr. Lightman's office, I think that you could be some help there. Where's Booth?"

"Uh, Dr. Brennan, he is still with Lightman."

"Yes, thank you Mr. Loker. Okay, let's head back there." She rushed past Angela and Loker.

"She's very scattered isn't she?"

"Only when it comes to anything social. In her work she's as focused as a camera."

"Interesting analogy."

"Are you two coming?"

Loker and Angela hurried off to join Brennan. He knew Lightman was going to enjoy this knew twist far too much, and that Gillian was going to hate it. Loker wasn't really sure how he felt. He hated the cases with dead kids and parents. He had no experience, but they were always such a downer.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Angela said as the tried to catch Brennan. "We all hate these kinds of cases."

"Oh Lightman is going to love you." He said, smiling at Angela's facial expression recognition skills.


	7. Chapter 7

This time around driving in the SUV with Brennan had scared Loker tremendously. Angela knew that Brennan had all sorts of ideas racing in her mind, and that she was mostly concentrating on those rather than the road. Loker didn't know that was how Brennan worked, but he just stared at his shoes, trying not to see how many close calls Brennan managed to barely escape. Finally he noticed the sun disappear as they pulled into the parking garage where the Lightman Group resided. Happy to be alive, both Angela and Loker exited the car and headed to Lightman's office to give him the skinny.

"You called your boss correct Mr. Loker?"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan, he is expecting us, no worries." He waited for a response but one didn't come so he took her brisk walking as one. He followed the two women quickly and didn't say another word to either of them. Now that they were back in Lightman's court, it was all Lightman, and what Loker had to say wouldn't matter too much to him.

They reached the floor within a few minutes and Brennan glanced around for Booth. She was becoming anxious when she didn't see him. Coming at them was Foster, who Loker noticed wasn't looking too pleased with the information she was about to hear.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth and Dr. Lightman are waiting in his office. We're curious as to what the next step will be." She looked and acknowledged Angela momentarily, and made a mental note to introduce herself later.

"I need to talk to Booth. We need to start an investigation, one that will be very extensive. Do you think Agent Reynolds will be eager to help out?"

"I'm sure he will be, Dr. Brennan. Shall we make our way to Dr. Lightman's office where we can further the conversation." She watched Brennan nod and head down the hallway unaccompanied. Foster told Loker to go find Torres and look at the files on the computer in the lab. He followed directions and left accordingly. "You work with Dr. Brennan?" Foster asked Angela as they followed Brennan at a much slower pace.

"Yes, for a few years now. I'm the reconstruct the faces based on the skeletons Brennan collects. I'm really an artist, but the job pays so well…"

"You look at faces all day?"

"I draw faces based on bone structure."

Gillian smiled. "Oh Lightman is going to love you."

Angela laughed at Gillian's response. "That's what I keep hearing…"

They turned into Lightman's office to hear Brennan and Lightman having a loud discussion again. Booth and Reynolds were sitting on the couch seemingly annoyed with the arguing.

"Dr. Lightman, we need to make an investigation to find out who these people are and where the boys parents have gone. The longer we wait, the harder it is going to be to do work with the bones and with the suspects we have left. Booth and I are accustomed to these cases, please let us continue going about them the way we normally do."

"Dr. Brennan, I am hearing you loud and clear. You are yelling after all. But listen to what I am proposin' to you. Let me and my team simply deal with the remaining suspects, and your team can focus primarily on the bones. Let our two fantastic and lovely FBI agents investigate what it is we need investigated. You and I want the same thing; we want to get this bloody perpetrator in jail for the rest of their lives." He paused and smiled to Foster. "There are so many sides to this case, let our combined sciences work on what we're best at."

"Bones, you gotta let this guy do his thing. If he is going to get as that much closer to figuring it out then let him at it. I know you want to be the one to figure it out and you will be, but it is okay to ask for help. You wanted Dr. Lightman's help. Take it. "

"Sweetie, the man knows his science the same way you know yours. Trust him to help you." Brennan smiled at her friends, but still looked unsure. It was obvious to Lightman and Foster that Brennan took a lot of pride in her work. They knew that she didn't want to lose the chance of solving this important case.

"Who are you by the way?"

"Angela Montenegro. I recreate the faces of the skulls Brennan finds in her field work."

"So you spend time around faces often huh?"

"You love me don't you? Dr. Foster and Eli said you would."

"Love is a strong emotion, and I'm not displaying it. But you're definitely gonna be useful on this case. Do we have a case, Dr. Brennan?" She nodded her head yes, but it was apparent she wasn't all together pleased.


	8. Chapter 8

As they sat around the conference room in the middle of Lightman's building, each member of the team was reviewing notes silently, except for one. Cal sat watching each individual as they reviewed the notes, seeing who was going to be most useful and who wasn't. He could tell out right that Brennan was fully interested. The crinkle in her brow showed interest, and at the same time genuine concern. It was obvious she cared about finding the criminal and getting this dead boy, his missing parents, and the dead imposter parents justice. He looked to Foster, who was reading over general family information. It was apparent that she was interested, but unsure of the outcome. There was some doubt written on her face, but he decided it was more of if they could find an answer, rather than taking on the case and the journey he knew it was going to be. Everyone else wore a similar expression to each other, all of them a little confused yet focused. He was pleased that everyone wanted the same thing: to find the killer.

Dr. Brennan looked up and sighed deeply, looked to Booth for support, and then spoke to the group. "It's important that we all share information with each other, however I propose that each party attempts to gather the information that's more familiar to them." She handed Angela a folder; Cal saw there was a photo in it, which Angela studied intently.

"What do you see in that photograph?"

Angela looked up questioningly, and then back down to the picture to study it some more. After a brief silence she responded to Lightman's question. "He looks…happy. He has no worries. His smile appears genuine."

"It is genuine He's one happy kid alright."

"How is this pertinent, Dr. Lightman."

Leaning back in his chair, he turned his gaze from Angela to Brennan. "He was a happy kid, therefore, it's highly unlikely that his parents are the killers. It would be apparent if they were giving him hell, he'd be displaying it without knowing he was."

"How can you be sure? Now that we are unable to talk to his parents due to their disappearance, it's impossible to now for sure if they're innocent."

"Bones, he has a point. You and I both know kids who are abused do not show genuine happiness. As of right now, we should look away from the parents and focus on the people we have available to us." Brennan glared at Booth. She really wanted his support. He rolled his eyes, and a flicker of anger flashed quickly across his face. "Damnit Bones, stop fighting the man, here. We are all after the same thing. This is not Jeffersonian vs. Lightman Group. Just stop fighting Bones."

She nodded and looked to Lightman. He nodded to Booth in appreciation; Brennan's resistance was becoming intolerable. "Foster, you were reading family files, yes? What sort of suspicious information do you have on anyone?"

"There isn't really anything too out of the ordinary, but I guess one thing that caught my eye was an uncle who spent 10 months on probation over 15 years ago."

"For?" Loker probed, just to sound included.

"Arson and vandalism. Nothing that really screams murder, but he was convicted a number of times, hence the probation."

The group took a large simultaneous breath. There was a dead end seemingly at every corner, and they hadn't even gotten deep into the case, yet. After an awkward minute or two, Brennan's phone began to chime. She looked to Angela with a bit of hope in her eyes and she mentioned that it was Hodgins. Flipping open her phone she muttered a few 'okays' and some 'I understands'. She made eye contact with Booth through the call, which allowed her to maintain confidence as she spoke to her associate. She snapped her phone shut and took another telling sigh.

"Hodgins got the results back from the chemical analysis he took from the imposter bones. It was bleach."

"You knew it was bleach." Lightman said to her, with a tone of attitude.

"I did, but I ran the test to make sure. I didn't want to go on a hunch - I needed facts."

"You knew it was bleach! You can break down the chemical contents and find out what brand it is! Why would you bother testing if you knew? All you bloody well did was take an extra step!"

"Yes, you're right Dr. Lightman. The brand in Clorox."

"Clorox?" Foster asked with a splash of hope in her tone. "He has a relative who works at a Clorox bleach plant in California." She studied her notes. "He visited the family before Jason was murdered."


End file.
